


Snapshots

by RMarie124



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, During Canon, F/M, Fluff, Kataang Week 2020, Post-Canon, Pre-Canon, but late lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:53:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 4,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25793935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RMarie124/pseuds/RMarie124
Summary: This is all for Kataang week 2020, but finished a week late. A small collection of short drabbles that take place pre-, during-, and post-canon.Prompts:1. Keeping warm2. Soft3. Blood/wounds4. PDA5. Heritage/responsibilities6. Napping7. The Red Thread of Fate8. Free Day
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar)
Comments: 32
Kudos: 128





	1. Keeping Warm

**Author's Note:**

> I saw Kataang week 2020 was happening and I immediately wanted to do it. I've just finished all of them, and they'll be posted once a day until they're done. I had a wonderful time writing these short little pieces, and I'm already excited for next year's Kataang week.

As a master Airbender and a fully realized Avatar, Aang is not a stranger to using both his air bending and fire bending to keep himself warm. But there are times when even the best breath of fire and temperature regulating breaths just don’t cut it.

This is one of those times.

It’s a particularly brutal winter in the South Pole, and he and Katara have gotten snowed in during a bad snowstorm. They were supposed to have left the day before, but both of them had sensed the storm moving in, as had Katara’s grandmother. That meant that before either of them had decided to stay an extra day, Gran-Gran had already made the executive decision.

They spend the day preparing for the storm, modifying Katara’s family’s house to hold an enclave for Appa that would keep him safe during the night. Aang had let Appa stay out as long as he could, but before long the storm had rolled in, and Appa had gone (almost) willingly into the enclave.

Aang shivers and pulls the blankets closer around him and Katara. The wind is howling menacingly outside, gusts of wind pounding at the walls. He rekindles the fire they’ve kept burning, and sighs in relief as some semblance of heat comes back. Katara snuggles further into him, wrapping her body around his. They’re both fully clothed in layers of Water Tribe furs, with three thick blankets atop them, and yet it’s still freezing.

“Even my breath of fire isn’t helping.” Aang tries to stop his teeth from chattering. “I’ve never experienced cold like this before. And I was stuck in an _iceberg_ for a hundred years!”

Katara lets out a laugh. “I don’t think there’s been a winter this cold since my mom was a kid. You remember that story I told about little Nini?”

Aang shivers again, though this time not from the cold. “Yeah, I do.”

“It’s too cold to sleep.” Katara says miserably. “And I don’t think the storm is going to let up for a long time.”

Aang groans. “We’ll just have to sleep on Appa on our way to the Fire Nation.”

“Being in the Fire Nation sounds so good right now. So _warm_ compared to here.” Katara muses.

He hums his assent. They lay quietly for a moment before Aang feels Katara’s hand sneak underneath his sweater. He raises his eyebrow at her but she just smiles innocently in response. Her hand continues to travel up his chest, and then down across his stomach, down further to the waistband of his pants.

“Katara?” His voice is low, his heart rate speeding up.

“Hm?” She’s leaning in closer to him.

His own hands have a mind of their own, sneaking under his wife’s sweater. She makes a pleased noise. “What are you doing?”

“I figured that if we won’t get much sleep tonight, we might as well spend our time doing something fun.” Her hand is wavering at the waistband of his pants, waiting for his cue.

He grins. “Maybe we’ll actually warm up.”

“Oh, I have no doubt we will.” She says, before leaning up to kiss him.


	2. Soft

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is more conceptually soft than anything. I wanted to just capture a soft moment between them, where they had no expectations for a little while and they could dream of the future.

“How is it possible for sheets to be this soft?” Katara asked, making a snow angel pattern on the expansive bed. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt anything like this before.”

Aang jumped and landed gently on the bed next to her, sighing as he took in the feeling of the sheets. “These are nice. It’s like they’ve gotten softer over the years. Or maybe Zuko is just giving us the best of the best.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised, he likes to think he’s being sneaky giving us the higher quality things, but he’s not.” Katara rolled so her head was resting in Aang’s lap.

His hand went automatically to her head, running it through the soft strands of her hair. “He probably feels bad that we have to travel so much.” He mused.

“It’s nice to stay here in the palace with someone we know.” Katara ran her hands along the silk.

“It is.”

Aang continued to run his hand through Katara’s hair, both of them sitting silently in the moment. The war has been over for five years, and in that time, Aang and Katara have been busy maintaining peace and organizing the restoration of all the Air Temples. It was arduous work, but neither of them minded. It was necessary, and it was work that both of them did willingly. Even so, it was good to have a nice, soft bed every once and a while. Aang thought to himself, not for the first time, that he could get used to this. Having a single place for him and Katara to come back to that they could call their own. In his bones he knew that he’d always be a Nomad at heart, and that he’d have to travel a lot for his Avatar duties, but a home with Katara would be wonderful.

A home with a bed with soft sheets, a place they could make their own and maybe one day fill with children. Aang smiled to himself. An idea began to form in his mind.

“Katara?” He asked.

“Hm?” She sounded relaxed.

“You know that island off the coast of Yu Dao?”

Katara nodded.

“What do you think about making a home there?” He proposed. “We could model it after the Temples, and host other Acolytes there. But most of all, we could make it our home.”

Katara turned so that she was looking up at him, her eyes shining. “I would love nothing more than to make a home with you.”

Aang felt his heart soar. He leaned down to kiss Katara. “I’ll propose the idea to the administration the next time we’re in the city.”

Katara reached her hand up to rest on his cheek. “I can’t wait.”

He rested his hand on top of hers. “Neither can I.”


	3. Blood/Wounds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angst galore in this chapter. It takes place between the end of season two and the beginning of season 3. I've always wanted to explore Katara's feelings during this time, and this just flowed out of me. This was actually the first one I wrote out of the prompts lol

The turquoise glow of the healing water is incongruous with the red lighting of the Fire Nation ship. Katara tries to ignore that the ship they’ve captured out of necessity is of the nation that has taken so much away from her, and even more away from Aang. His flesh is smooth, save the raised, angry mark that Azula’s lighting strike has left, and she must again fight back tears. She has barely left his side, sitting diligently in his room, writing in her journal and healing him at the same times without fail. She eats very little, and will only talk with Toph. She curls up on a mattress on the floor, barely sleeping, always listening for his steady breathing.

Katara only feels in control when she’s healing Aang, and even so, she feels like she’s barely got any idea what she’s doing. She considers herself relatively experienced for learning on the fly but for _Spirit’s sake_ , she has never had experience with something so serious. It will very well scar for the rest of his life, and she wishes that she could have done more, but she knows that by keeping his energy flowing, by healing what she can reach, she’s doing all that she can.

It scares her the longer Aang’s hair gets. The weeks stretch on and his hair grows longer. He mumbles in his sleep, his face twists in pain, and Katara swears she has seen tears slip from his eyes on more than one occasion. It’s his hair that scares her and she doesn’t want to face why. Though she has acknowledged on some level that the longer it gets, the more time has passed, and the likelihood of her success in bringing him back diminishes. If she’s failed to bring him back….

_No_.

Katara grits her teeth and pours more energy into healing Aang. More love, more hope, more of any positive feeling that she can bear to muster. She remembers the way he smiles at her, the way his cheeks redden whenever she compliments him, the look in his eyes in the Cave of Two Lovers when they leaned closer and closer in the dimming light. Tears slip from her eyes, and she doesn’t stop them. She allows them to mingle with the water she’s using thinking that maybe if the spirits see that she’s pouring literally everything into healing this boy that she cares about more than anything, they’ll smile on her and grant her just this one miracle.

Aang lets out a pained groan as her hands pass over the highest peak of his scar, and she gently moves her hands away, bringing the water with it. The water lands gracefully in the bowl she’d brought it in, and the glow fades. Katara places one hand on Aang’s back, and the other in one of his hands.

“You came back to the world once, when Sokka and I found you in the iceberg.” She whispers. “Please, Aang. Come back to us again. Come back to _me._ ”

She only cries harder when she feels his hand tighten slightly around hers.


	4. PDA

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a quick lil reunion for these two :)

Aang has been gone for two months, and Katara cannot wait to hear the familiar roar that Appa lets out as he’s coming in. She knows that Aang will jump down even before Appa lands, and she’s been sitting in the courtyard of Air Temple island all morning watching for him. The Air Acolytes roam around, some stopping to talk with her for a while before moving on. She knows that he’ll be hungry when he gets home, so she has a small bowl of fruit with her on the steps.

Soon she hears Appa, and she stands up immediately. A few other Acolytes come to the courtyard as well to greet the Avatar, yet they stand back, waiting for him to be reunited first with his wife.

Katara only has eyes for the two figures arriving, though. Once Aang gets close enough, his face breaks out into a smile at the sight of her. Katara is smiling ear to ear, and she watches Aang lean down to say something to Appa before jumping and floating gracefully down to stand in front of her. She runs forward, the bowl of fruit forgotten on the steps. Aang places both of his hands on either side of her face and pulls her immediately in for a long kiss. Katara sighs and wraps her arms around his neck, happy to be in his arms once again.

When Aang pulls away, they are both breathless and blushing lightly. “It’s so good to be back.”

“I’m so glad you’re back.” Katara whispers. “I missed you.”

He pulls her in for a hug, as if he couldn’t get enough of her in that moment. Katara becomes aware of the other Acolytes behind them and she pulls back.

“I think the Acolytes would also like to welcome you back. I’ll allow it, but you’re mine for the rest of the evening,” She teases, running a hand down his chest.

“Yes ma’am.” He grins at her.

They walk hand in hand back towards the Acolytes, and Katara presents the bowl of fruit to him, which he turns and shares with her. The Acolytes ask him questions excitedly, and he answers them with enthusiasm, his hand linked with hers the whole time.


	5. Heritage/Responsibilities

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was hard for me to come up with, but I felt like it couldn't be told without a flash forward in time. I wanted to explore Aang's feeling about the increase in the number of Acolytes. And then of course, Tenzin.

It’s early in the journey to getting more Air Acolytes, but Katara can see just how happy it makes Aang. He’s even lighter on his toes than he usually is, as if he’s almost floating most of the time. Every time someone comes to the island to become an Acolyte, Aang is either the one that greets them, or comes to visit them as soon as he’s able to. He’s happier than she’s seen him since the day they got married. It’s infectious, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. After all he’s been through, he deserves this.

One night after a new wave of people has come to the island, Aang comes to their room late at night, tears in his eyes and a large smile on his face. She stands from their bed and places both hands on the side of his face, returning his smile.

“They’re coming back, Katara.” He says through tears. “The Air Nomads are coming back.”

She can’t help it, she starts crying too. “It’s so wonderful to see.”

Aang pulls her into a fierce hug. “Thank you for being with me. I know that you could be home, or even rejecting the way we live here but you’re _not_. You’re here and you meditate with me and you’re learning along with the Acolytes and I don’t know how to express how grateful I am that you’re here.”

“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.” She says, running her hand soothingly down his back. “This is important to you, so it’s important to me too.”

He pulls her in for a kiss, their tears mingling, but it’s joyous and real and beautiful. Katara speaks first when they separate.

“I promised myself that I’d help you rebuild the Air Nation after the war was over.” She sees surprise in his expression and keeps going. “I told myself that if that’s what you wanted, I would follow you anywhere.”

“How long?” He whispers.

She looks down. “Since we first went to the Southern Temple. But it didn’t really set in until after Azula shot you with lightning. I was working on healing you, and I was so desperate to keep you alive, that I promised myself that I would do everything I could to help rebuild and restore your culture and people.”

“Katara…” A fresh wave of tears is flowing from his eyes.

“I’ve been thinking.” She says. “What about a trip to all the Temples? You can bring all the Acolytes, and we can clean the Temples, and everyone can have a chance to experience what it was like at each place. I’m sure they’d love it.”

His smile is gentle, yet radiant, and he wipes his tears away. “It’s actually a tradition to study at another Temple for a period of time. It usually happens after you master Airbending, but I never got the chance to do it.”

“Well, that settles it.” Katara says. “A trip to all the Temples.”

Aang laughs and picks her up and spins her around. She feels elated. He kisses her once he puts her down, and she can’t help but get lost in it. He’s holding onto her like she’s the most precious thing ever, but there’s heat in his touch, and she feels it spread through her body. She traces the arrow down his back, the one that she knows so well.

“There will be more airbending masters one day.” Katara promises. “I will give you an air bending child. And you will get to tattoo them with pride.”

_Twenty years later_

Tenzin sits in front of his father, apprehension evident on his face.

“Are you nervous?” Aang asks his son. He is mixing together the ink that will be used in the tattooing process.

The young man nods.

Aang smiles reassuringly. “I was nervous too, when I got my arrows. Remember your meditation techniques, Tenzin. And you can tell me if you need a break, especially if you start to feel dizzy.”

Tenzin nods again, and then looks intently at the arrows his father wears. “Dad?”

“Yes, Tenzin?”

“I wish I could have known them all.” Tenzin’s voice is quiet.

Aang puts the bowl of ink down and rests a hand on Tenzin’s shoulders. He feels the weight of his loss acutely in moments like these, yet he draws great strength from it as well.

“You are the first air bending master in over one hundred years.” Aang’s voice is full of pride. “You _do_ know all of the air benders before you, because you know and understand all of their teachings. You’ve studied their ways, their words, their movements. They live on in _you_. Guru Pathik told me that the love of the Air Nomads hasn’t left this world, but that it is reborn. That love resides in you, too.”

Tenzin wipes tears from his eyes. Then he straightens his posture. “I’m ready.”

Aang beams. “It is my honor to bestow you with the marks of an air bending master.”

A week later, once Tenzin’s tattoos have started to heal, Aang hosts the ceremony that officially marks his son as a master. He fights back tears as he recites the words he has known since he was a child, and swears he sees Gyatso’s face in the smoke that rises from the incense. He cries then, tears of pure, unadulterated joy. He looks down to find Katara in the audience, tears streaming down her face as well. It is through the love of his people, reborn in Katara and reborn again in all of their children, that his people are returning.


	6. Napping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one takes place between the end of the war and Zuko's coronation. It's "let them all get the rest they deserve" hours

After Aang defeats Ozai, after they’ve been released by the swirling storm of immediate diplomatic and political concerns, they are all exhausted. Zuko gave them all places to stay in the palace, just so none of them would have to do any traveling until after the coronation was over.

Aang and Katara have stayed up late each night since Sozin’s Comet talking. They talk about everything and nothing, laying everything out between them. It’s rare that they sleep at night, neither of them feeling quite safe enough to let down their guards. And from the way that they often run into other members of their gang throughout the halls of the palace, they know they’re not alone.

It only ever feels safe to sleep during the day, and even then sometimes Katara has problems settling down. She’s still sore and worn out after her fight with Azula, but more than that she’s worn out after a the whirlwind year she’s had. The couch in the guest wing of the palace is _so_ comfortable, yet sleep is still elusive.

Aang makes his presence known, which Katara is grateful for. He’s usually quiet, and in her heightened state of awareness from the lack of sleep, she probably would have attacked him. She shifts over, making room for him on the large couch. It’s large enough for them to lay together, wrapped around each other. Their relationship is in its innocent stage, barely there, yet clearly developing. Aang wordlessly lies down next to her, threading his legs with hers and placing an arm under her head for her comfort. She sighs and tucks herself in close to him.

They fall asleep easily, exhaustion overtaking them both. Sokka even has enough courtesy not to wake them when he walks in. Normally he would make some sort of comment, but he knows that both of them are truly tired. Aang had just gotten done saving the entire world, and Sokka figures that the kid could use a break. As could his sister.

Aang wakes first a couple of hours later. He looks down at Katara, who is still resting. The light of the setting sun is ghosting over her skin, giving it a beautiful glow. He places a kiss on the top of her head. She snuggles closer to him, and he smiles.

He could get used to this.


	7. The Red Thread of Fate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of fun writing this one. :)

At age ten, Aang dreams of a young girl he’s never seen, dressed in beautiful blues and struggling to bend the water of a nearby stream. He wants to reach out to her, to run through the snow with her, yet he finds himself rooted to the spot. A shadow falls over the scene and he looks up to his left. He sees a large figure struggling to take shape, but parts of its face are glowing. Aang doesn’t feel afraid, simply curious. The figure turns to him and holds out its hand, and he looks to see that there’s a small piece of red string. Aang takes it and then follows the figures pointed finger to find the young girl is looking at him, her hand open and holding a matching piece of string.

Aang tells Gyatso about the dream and the older man smiles and recounts the legend of the red thread of fate. He tells Aang that the spirits showed him his soulmate.

“But I’m going to be a monk,” Aang counters. “How can I have a soulmate who isn’t also a monk?”

“Sometimes our futures aren’t quite what we have planned, Aang.” Gyatso places his hand on the young Airbender’s shoulder. “if the spirits have destined you to be with this young girl, she must be very important.”

At age twelve, after getting his tattoos, Aang dreams again of the young girl. She looks to be a bit older than him, and he wonders when he will meet her. Her eyes are the clearest shade of blue he’s ever seen. They resemble the meditation pools, serene and beautiful. He is rooted to the ground again as he watches her accompany an older woman around their small village. Her bending abilities have improved, and he wonders where her instructor is. The figure comes back, this time in sharper focus, and Aang can make out the arrows on its head, arms, and legs. They are glowing, as are its eyes. The dream ends the same way it had before, with Aang and the girl holding identical pieces of red string.

He wakes, confused. The water tribes are thriving and prosperous when he last heard of them. Why is this one so small? He becomes burdened with the weight of the world before he can ask Gyatso what it all meant.

Aang dreams while he is frozen. He’s suspended between the spirit world and the real world, and his dreams reflect it. Life at the Temple is moving in slow motion, and no one is moving to talk to him. He sees the figure, and realizes that it’s been him the whole time. Aang follows it through the Temple until they arrive at the hall with the Avatar statues. They phase through the door, and the figure kneels down to be face to face with Aang, and he feels the urge to reach out and touch its face. Before he can, the figure holds out the piece of red string. This time, though, the figure places the string on the ground and Aang watches in awe as it roots itself into the floor of the room and lays down a path.

The figure points to the path, and Aang starts walking along it. He travels out of the temple and down the mountain. The red line leads him all over the world, through forests, swamps, deserts, and finally an icy landscape. Everyone he sees is suspended in time, and he sees spirits floating through the air. Colors are brighter than they should be. He sees the end of the red line, and in front of it a huge wall of ice. As he nears the end of the line, cracks appear in the wall.

He reaches out to touch the crack, and in a blinding flash of light, full consciousness hits him and leaves him exhausted. He falls from where he stands and lands in someone’s arms. Aang opens his eyes and feels his heart stop. He is looking into the clear blue eyes that he’s only ever seen in dreams. Part of him expects to see the large figure of himself show up, but he knows that whatever is happening right now is real. Aang finds himself stricken with how _right_ this all feels. He remembers what Gyatso had told him two years ago about the red thread of fate and knows that this girl is who he is destined to be linked with for the rest of his life. He cannot wait to introduce her to his mentor. Aang searches his mind for what he learned about what people in the Water Tribes like to do for fun and…

“Will you go penguin sledding with me?” He asks hopefully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always thought the giant version of himself that Aang walks towards to master the Avatar state was cool, and I thought that it would be fun to have it play a part in this. One more to go! I can't believe it's already almost over


	8. Free Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for following this to the end. I'm sad it's over, but it was an absolute delight to write. I'm already excited for next year's Kataang week!
> 
> Have some tooth rotting fluff to close out the week :)

The sun is setting on another day, and Aang and Katara sit on the large windowsill in their room overlooking Republic City. The arena is well on its way to being complete, and they know that soon they will hear the cheers of the pro-bending audience. They’re sharing their nightly cup of tea, and each other’s presence.

“We’ve come so far.” Aang muses. “Sometimes it’s hard to believe that it’s already been thirty years since you freed me from that iceberg. There are days where it still feels like yesterday.”

Katara nods in agreement. “These thirty years have been so quick yet so slow at the same time. I still get that feeling of adventure whenever we fly on Appa.”

“Me too.” Aang smiles, and Katara smiles back.

He reaches for her hand and she threads their fingers together. Katara feels affection swell within her for her husband and for the life they’ve created. The world has changed so rapidly, and yet he has remained a pillar of familiarity. Despite changing along with the world, Aang is still a child at heart. She sets her cup of tea down and takes Aang’s cup out of his hand as well. He raises his eyebrow at her, but she just shakes her head and scoots closer to him, pulling him into a long, lingering kiss.

“I’ve cherished every moment with you.” She whispers against his lips. “You know that, right?”

“I do. And you know that I feel the same.” He whispers back.

Katara simply kisses him again. The sun is casting a golden glow over them, and as Katara pulls away, she notices how the light softens the angles of his cheeks and his jaw. She turns to look down at the island, and sees a few acolytes milling about.

Aang gets up and cleans up their tea, and Katara watches as he takes his outer layer of robes off. He holds his hand out for her, and she takes it, smiling at the look he gives her. She closes the blinds, bringing their room into partial darkness, but Aang is quick to light the candles on the wall. He pulls her close and they start to sway to a silent tune. Her head is tucked under his head, and she hasn’t felt so entirely calm in so long. It all happens so naturally after he leans down to kiss her, and as they lay in the glow of the firelight, Katara wishes that this moment would last forever.

He tucks a piece of her hair behind her ear and he looks at her with so much love that she can’t help but pull him closer to her. This is their home, their life, and Katara wouldn’t have it any other way.


End file.
